building to house 2,500 inmates. thank you for watching. i'm john seeingenthaler. when harry met sharron, let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews down in washington. leading off tonight, angle of attack. sharron angle is one nasty challenger. last night she took the crowbar to senate majority leader harry reid and didn't let facts get in her way. that said, with the reputation of a tea partier who drank too much of the stuff, it's hard to undercut expectations. just by showing up, she probably met the woody allen standard. angle's alienated attitude towards facts, and last night's

showdown in vegas is our top story tonight. plus, angle told reid to "man up" last night. sarah palin has called reporters impotent, limbing and gutless. christine o'donnell told her opponent to put on his man pants. carl paladino talks about andrew cuomo's legendary prowess. what's with this stuff? is this the new normal, political assault? also, what is sarah palin doing taking a shot at michelle obama? who has an approval rating twice as high as her's? does sarah palin think about what she think about what she says? or does she look for attention wherever she can get it? and turns out john boehner did give money to the republican who likes dressing up as a nazi and didn't ask for money back. we'll talk to ohio senator sherrod brown about that one. let's talk about a grim reminder of the iraq war and who did the pushing. all of that's ahead but first, let's get to the latest polls. for that we check the "hardball" scoreboard. start with california, new rx euters poll shows jerry brown with a four-point lead ore meg

whitman in the governor's race. i've been watching that one. in the senate race reuters has barbara boxer up one. that is a fascinating race. 46% to 45%, and it could go either way. in the west virginia senate race, a new poll shows joe manchin the governor up by ten. he has really cleaned up. i guess it was that hicky casting call that got him in trouble. manchin's in the lead. and the new hampshire senate poll, the other way around, kelly i ayotte is pulling away from hodes. she's at 50% in the new university of new hampshire poll. she's polled out. finally to alaska where the three-way senate race is basically tied. 33% from republican joe miller he's got the nomination. 31% for lisa murkowski doing the write-in campaign. and 27% within striking distance for democrat scott mcadams. a weird case where someone could win in the three-way even if they're on the opposite side of most people. the club for growth has endorsed miller. but we'll continue to check the "hardball" score board every night leading up to the november 2nd election date.

now to the debate between harry reid and sharron angle. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent as well. i want to start with john ralston but first take a look at some of the action. here's sharron angle, the challenger, the tea partier, delivering -- i think a cheap shot at the senate democratic leader, harry reid. let's listen. >> you came from search light to the senate with very little, and now you're one of the richest men in the u.s. senate. on behalf of nevada taxpayers, i'd like to know -- we'd like to know, how did you become so wealthy on a government payroll? >> senator reid? >> mitch, that's really kind of a low blow. i think most everyone knows i was a very successful lawyer, i did a very good job in investing. so her suggestion that i made money being a senator is simply false and i'm disappointed she would suggest that. >> john, is this the new politics? is this the sleaze way we go? this is the dirtiest, oldest

trick, the stuff you do in politics. you play a little number. if you made money off money you had before, you're stealing. >> well, she's playing into what a lot of supporters think. >> she's saying he's a crook. >> yeah, but she's playing into what a lot of her supporters think, which is harry reid is corrupt and made all this money. and chris, it's patently false. harry reid was a millionaire when he was elected to the house in 1982. he had made a lot of money off of real estate in las vegas as a lot of people did at that time. what i'm more amazed by is how harry reid looked like michael dukakis there. he was so subdued, and when a person calls him corrupt, come back and say give me some evidence. how can you say something like this? instead he did his usual low-key harry reid reaction. >> do you think he's afraid? or has been badly coached into saying, well, don't look too mean on her, you'll be the troll here. you've got to be nice. did somebody tell him that? >> i think there is some of that. and that's true any time, especially in politics as you know, chris. when a man debates a woman.

but i have to tell you something about harry reid, he's uncoachable. he's proven that time and time again. i don't care how well they prepared him. they did not prepare him to answer that question, i bet. >> okay, we know chuck's television is visual and sometimes mental. sometimes the mental is not as important as the visual. did she win the visual by being able to belly up, stand up against this senior senator and seem like an equal? >> it's hard to sit there and say she won anything. her performance was not that good, it's just his performance was so bad. >> how would you describe the performance? >> i guess you could say it was -- >> lifeless? >> he was inarticulate in the first 15 minutes. he did get there, but none of -- there didn't seem to be a strategy. look at the way he answered the supreme court question. he started talking about how great scalia was. this is a man who needs a big hispanic turnout. he didn't mention sonia sotomayor once. he at least understand her message. >> you have a challenger a far out if not wacky.

did the viewers, the voters, i call people who watch the show viewers, did the voters say i don't care how strange she is, i'm taking a chance on somebody. is that how it will be when the election comes out? >> i think people were watching the debate. there's very few undecideds in the race. 1% or 2%, maybe. if they are watching to see if sharron angle is as crazy as harry reid portrayed her. if there were undecideds watching, they could gravitate to angle. >> this is -- there's a two-prong strategy for reid. number one, try to see if he can general up his numbers with a get out the vote effort. and he hopes to move anti-revote to none of the above or the third party candidacies. that's who sharron angle was up against last night, which was the winning over the anti-reid voter not yet sold on her.

what are that they going to do -- did she keep them among none of the above. the law of politics is against harry reid. it will be an upset -- you have to be sitting at 50. everything. >> the smart move by her strategist perhaps with her participating, jon, give this guy one debate to show that you can stand up there and meet him back and forth but don't give him too many debates because at some moment his expertise will overwhelm him. >> i don't know, after last night maybe she should debate him ten times, i'm not sure about that. but chuck is right, the harry reid strategy from a year ago was he knew he wasn't getting close to 50%. his disapproval rating was 50%. he had to push those people, as chuck mentioned, from star long angle to none of the above. there are nine choices on the ballot. he's hoping people will be confused and vote for somebody else. that's the only chance he has. >> by the soft approach.

it reminds me of him going with dig nixon saying, erase the as is a assassin image. the old nixon would have taken on adlej stevenson, talk about the earlier opponents like helen douglas. he would have killed the guy, but he didn't and he lost. you have to play your toughest game in the toughest battle. that's what i think. thank you, chuck. do you agree? >> yes, it is your show. i'm in your house. what am a -- right? what a politician. >> jon ralston, it is great to have an expert here. up next, "hardball" hits the cam train trail. monday it is off to the university of louisville interviewing jack conway. tuesday in new york covering the race. then on wednesday in chicago

with alexi giannoulias. and then on thursday in philadelphia with joe sestak. what's with women candidates calling their male opponents to "man up." it seems to be a growing trend this election year. you are watching "hardball" on msnbc. for to 4 devices at once. the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell. trusted everywhere.

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back to "hardball." last night in two separate debates both women told their opponents to "man up." we have heard a lot about the male candidates offering male candidates to "man up" or some variation of the phrase. we'll let them speak for themselves. let's listen. >> man up, harry reid. you need to understand that we have a problem with social security. >> so i think if you want to

repeal health care reform and let insurance companies go back to their worst abuses, congressman, then you ought to repeal your own first and man up and do what you're asking other people to do. >> my opponent is addicted to a culture of spending, waste, fraud and abuse, whether it is spending tax dollars on men eelgs fashion shows or to pay off his krone anies with speed heart pension deals. >> you know, these are the type of cheap, underhanded un-manly tactics that we've come to expect from obama's favorite republican mike castle. you know, i released a statement today saying mike, this is not a bake-off, get your man-pants on. impotent, limp and gutless reporters taking anonymous sources and citing them as factual references. >> we are not making this stuff up. christina writes for the memo and john allen writes for politico. this is tricky territory for all involved, but i have never heard

so much. your thoughts? oftentimes it is a female candidate up against a male candidate, and they use the term manly, man up, man pants, limp, whatever. a lot of references to sexuality. >> just imagine if a man candidate said "act like a lady" or be a woman, do something like this. this is something you would never stand for. you have the women saying this and they are getting away with it. it is a bizarre phenomenon. >> because? the men have no idea what to say. >> we are tough, we are going to go out there and fight and are up against the elite men making the decisions in the back room. i'm curious to know what nancy pelosi thinks about this. i can't imagine her saying that to john boehner, for example. >> she doesn't have to do anything. she is as tough as they come. your thoughts, john. this is trickty territory for a fellow male on this. i don't know what's p.c. right

now. it is common to make the references in debate, sometimes face to face. >> there's really no defense for a man. i mean, it is an effort to bait and away. if a man stands down from that challenge, he is admitting he's the panny waist she's suggesting she is. if he comes back too strong, he could be overbearing. it is a lose/lose situation for candidates here. if i'm a political strategist, debate prepping people right now i'm telling them you've got to be ready here in question and say something, like, hey, that was clever but what are you doing to create jobs? find something that you can say back. because obviously, if a woman is suggesting that a man is impotent or less -- less than manly or doesn't have cahones or whatever the choice words are or "man up," there's not much that you can do. it's a tough situation. >> some of this gets a little more pointed like fashion shows, spending money on fashion shows. i think that has a certain connotation. maybe it should. let's take a look and mix this up a little bit. let's listen to carl paladino who is not exactly a sweetheart by any means. here's what he says about andrew cuomo.

i think both guys are fairly macho, i suppose. let's hear how one goes after the other. let's hear it. >> andrew, stop the political posturing and albany games. come out and debate all the candidates. why do you want to exclude the only african-american candidate and the only woman candidate and the green party candidate? i just don't understand. come out and debate like a man. >> well, that sounds a little different than when a woman says it, but it's so much like get in the ring with me, stop hiding. but it doesn't seem to have the same -- well, here he is. apparently it worked. cuomo's going to debate the guy. apparently the "like a man" thing was irresistible, jonathan. >> the real answer to that if you're not in the political forum where it's totally inappropriate was to take a swing at the guy. so, you know, come challenge my manhood anytime you want if you're a guy. if you're a woman, i don't know what to do about it. >> i just wonder about this. this stuff happens in traffic in washington. i swear, women can get away with

blowing their car horn. if a guy blows his horn, he better be ready to take that guy on at the next stop. he was going to have a little -- let's talk about this on the side. the road kind of thing. and i do notice that happens. but i don't want to generalize the anthropology here. but i do think we saw in that debate. and here's the question. we watched that in the last segment. jump in here, jonathan, as well. we watched sharron angle who is the same age as harry, both mature people, but one taking it very personal saying you're basically a crook, you're going to make illegal aliens, social security, really tough charges. and harry comes back kind of like afraid to show any attitude. >> and that was -- i'm certain, you know, everybody knows it is as jonathan said, very difficult to debate a woman, particularly in this sarah palin age, where people are ready to cry sexism. the lipstick on a pig thing. you remember that. >> and the elitism versus the outside thing. >> this is an insult. you wouldn't say something like that to your co-worker. if they said that on the senate floor, you'd be hearing about it for weeks. >> what? you're a crook.

>> crook, or man up, or come on -- >> it's pretty strong language. >> the cahones comment. >> it's definitely -- >> finish the thought here. >> it's definitely taking this aggression, and that's part of the whole tea party republican movement that's happening right notice. and i'm surprised to hear robin carnahan saying that. >> is this all just metaphor that these politicians don't punch each other? they don't risk physical assault. they're not street corner kids in tough neighborhoods. they talk like this as if they're like those people. isn't this a masquerade when people talk tough? somebody pointed out in times like the toughest sports like football, in sports they're not as aggressive as tennis. that's when they use the nasty language. your thoughts on that, jonathan. politics is using its gentlemenly aspect, are we saying? >> gets under the skin of their opponent and makes them lose their temper and certainly that's the part of the strategy for anybody in that case, sharron angle or robin carnahan earlier in that day. you challenge a man's masculinity and hope it riles them up, gets them angry a little bit, makes them look

unsettled to the voters. you have to remember this cuts both ways. harry reid's been calling sharron angle crazy all campaign season. and that's something men use against women in usually subtler ways than reid's campaign has been doing it. >> really? >> absolutely. >> that sounds like lucille ball kind of stuff. >> don't forget there's dog whistling here with christine o'donnell. christine o'donnell, she suggested, mike castle you know she said all of those things, put your man pants on, unmanly. well, one of her top aides made comments about his sexuality. she distanced herself from that. >> probably before you were both in the business, george bush sr. after debating geraldine ferrar said i kicked ass very well. that didn't go over well. but then he did something brilliant against pete dupont. he took a shot against him. and he said, let me help you

with that one, pierre. that was a great putdown. >> then there's that. >> anyway, they used to say that first name of a headwaiter and a last name of a polluter. hear the pun. no offense to anyone. thank you, christina and john. good luck with your new job, which is -- >> roll call starting monday. up next is rand paul modifying his position? he seems to have done a 180 from one of his more far out positions. here he is coming up on here on "sideshow," rand paul. you're watching "hardball." [ male announcer ] prilosec otc traveled to fairbanks, alaska. home of one of the coldest, longest nights on the planet.

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back to "hardball." it's time for the "sideshow." first comedians for a cause. last night john stewart and stephen colbert announced they'd be combining their events in the rally to restore sanity and/or fear on october 30th this year. they also got a big impromptu visit from a big supporter with deep pockets.

>> stephen. >> what? >> hi, stephen. >> so here's what i did, i had my staff sneak into your studio early this morning with a little gift. okay? >> can i tell you what's weird about that? we have no security here. >> "daily show" audience, look under your seats. >> look under your seats. >> look under your seats. what's under there? >> you're going to the rally! you're going to the rally! >> wow. for all of us, it looks like no one really knows what this ral hi on the 30th of this month is all about. well, i'm going. next, eating their own, conservatives among conservatives, went after new york tea partier carl paladino. in the "washington post" today, quote --

what does kamikaze carl proceed to do? get in an angry shouting match with a reporter. level some odd insinuation about his opponent's prowess. we talked about that earlier. and then expounds on homosexuality and spends three days on having to explain and reaffirm before the inevitable apology. throwing the bad apples from the barrel. and now another tea partier, will the real rand paul please stand up? the kentucky senate candidate again appears to be moderating his stance on the issues. in a statement to an indy tax group that was initially verified by his campaign, rand paul once wrote, quote, "i would vote for the fair tax to get rid of the 16th amendment, and the i.r.s. and a lot of the the control federal government excerpts over us." well pretty far out there zapping the control of the constitution. when paul was asked this week about his support for the when paul was asked this week about his support for the fair tax, the national sales tax, he

changed his tune. "i haven't really been able saying anything like that. i think it's better to go with what i'm saying now on the campaign trail." the paul campaign backtracked again today blaming a former staffer for wrongly distributing that initial fairtax. we're going to have a national sales tax statement. believe me, supporting a 23% national sales tax is not a winning issue. that's the fairtax. 23% national sales tax to replace the income tax. now to tonight's big number. congress could look a lot different come january. how many tea party candidates are on the november ballot? according to "the new york times," you won't believe this, 138 on the general election ballot. and you betcha, they're all republicans. 138 house and senate candidates are flying the tea party banner. tonight's tea'ed off big number. that's it for requested heart "hardball." up next, "your business." [ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day.

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